Scalia scorns vote protections

6:00 AM,
Mar. 7, 2013

People wait outside the Supreme Court Feb. 27 to listen to oral arguments in the Shelby County v. Holder voting rights case.

Written by

Verna Williams
LOCAL EXPERT

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Verna Williams teaches constitutional law at the University of Cincinnati College of Law, where she also co-directs the Center for Race, Gender, and Social Justice.

On my constitutional law exam this year, I invited students to comment on a quote from a scholar - Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. What he said is worth considering in light of his gasp-inducing comment during the argument in the Voting Rights Act of 1965 case, Shelby County v. Holder:

"Originalism seems to me more compatible with the nature and purpose of a Constitution in a democratic system. A democratic society does ...